Kapunan says Duterte’s violent rhetoric feeds culture of violence among Filipino youth

Abi Sarabia M., Philippine Canadian Inquirer
August 20, 2026

Photo courtesy: Philippine News Agency

Private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan said Vice President Sara Duterte’s history of violent public statements is contributing to a broader culture of violence affecting Filipino youth, days after a fatal shooting at a Zamboanga City university left two students dead.

Kapunan made the remarks during an online press briefing on Wednesday, August 19, a day after a student at Ateneo de Zamboanga University shot and killed a fellow student before taking his own life. It was the second school shooting in the Philippines in less than a month, following an earlier incident in Tacloban City, Leyte.

“Hindi lang ang Vice President ang sinasabi kong responsible. I am saying that she certainly is contributing to the problem and not to the solution.” Kapunan said, clarifying that she was not attributing sole blame to Duterte.

(I’m not saying the Vice President alone is responsible. I am saying that she certainly is contributing to the problem and not to the solution) 

The lawyer, who is part of the prosecution panel in Duterte’s ongoing impeachment trial, argued that the shooting should prompt a wider look at the examples set by the country’s political leaders. She said Duterte’s own conduct illustrated the kind of example young Filipinos are exposed to.

“‘Yun ang default reaction ng ating Vice President, mag-hire ng assassin, mag-press conference, magbanta. That cannot be the leadership example of a high public official.” she said, referring to the Vice President’s practice of responding to threats with talk of hiring assassins and holding press conferences.

(That’s the default reaction of our Vice President, to hire an assassin, hold a press conference, issue threats. That cannot be the leadership example of a high public official) 

Kapunan cited two specific instances of such rhetoric from Duterte: her November 2024 statement that she had arranged for the assassination of President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and then-House Speaker Martin Romualdez should she herself be killed, and a more recent remark that she would hire an assassin for P5,000 if her husband were unfaithful.

A pattern across two generations

Kapunan situated Duterte’s rhetoric within what she described as a broader pattern spanning two generations of the Duterte family’s political leadership. She pointed to the extrajudicial killings associated with the drug war under former president Rodrigo Duterte, now facing proceedings at the International Criminal Court in The Hague over the campaign.

“‘Yung kultura ng tatay niya, ‘yung mga EJKs, kung kaya ‘yung tatay niya ay nasa The Hague dahil sa EJKs. Human rights violation naman ‘yun, that’s crime against humanity. Eh culture of violence ‘yun.”

(The culture of her father, the EJKs, that’s why her father is in The Hague because of the EJKs. That’s a human rights violation, that’s a crime against humanity. That is a culture of violence) Kapunan said.

She asked whether that legacy was what Filipino leaders would leave behind, noting that the values displayed by public officials are visible to the youth who grow up watching them.

Media and social media also blamed

Kapunan said responsibility for the culture of violence did not rest with Duterte or her family alone. She said social media platforms and news coverage that foreground crime, drug-related incidents, and school bullying also play a role in shaping what young Filipinos see as normal.

“So hindi lang directly responsible ang isang Vice President. Ang sinasabi ko ngayon, eh, dapat back to basics tayo, back to values tayo, back to family tayo.”

(So it’s not just the Vice President who is directly responsible. What I’m saying now is that we should go back to basics, back to values, back to family) she said, calling for a return to family values and personal accountability rather than placing blame on a single figure.

She also questioned whether hiring assassins for a set price had effectively become normalized in Philippine political discourse, given Duterte’s public remarks on the matter.

Kapunan said the impeachment trial currently underway against Duterte should serve as a signal that violent rhetoric and conduct from the country’s highest officials cannot go unanswered.